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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. lean — thin
  6. ground — a position
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. perch — the fish
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. band — a ring
  13. ground — crushed
  14. content — happy
  15. lean — to bend
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. ground — the earth
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. band — a music group
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. content — videos and posts

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com